A Little Polish
by Skye
Summary: Hay Lin has to at least attempt to cheer her up. Cornelia/Hay Lin


**A Little Polish**

Hay Lin recognized the expression. Others might not be able to tell the difference from Cornelia's normal manner, after all, she was often naturally cold and aloof, and she still smiled at the right times. But Hay Lin could see the worry underneath Cornelia's downcast looks when she thought that no one was watching. Hay Lin wanted to ask Cornelia what was wrong, but she'd just say that no one else could understand, most likely. Perhaps she could just bring it up with a "Cheer up!" or "Smile!" But no, Hay Lin knew that was more likely to get Cornelia into an even in even more sour state. The sometimes reclusive girl hated being told what to do, especially if she didn't like doing it in the least.

Outside, Cornelia had chosen to sit by herself for lunch, saying she needed to get some studying done. Hay Lin watched her. She looked so beautiful underneath the tree, surrounded by the fallen autumn leaves. The orange and yellow matched her hair and muted outfit. It would make a nice picture, except for one thing. The girl in it looked lonely. Hay Lin jumped into the picture, kicking up the leaves around her, which clashed with her bright lime green outfit. "Cornelia! What are you doing?" she asked, startling the other girl.

"Reading," Cornelia said.

"Can I watch?" Hay Lin asked, sitting down on the bench next to her.

Cornelia sighed. "Hay Lin, I really just wanted to be alone today," she explained.

"Me too," Hay Lin lied.

"Then why are you-"

"Um, not totally alone. It's just, you're by yourself, and I wanted to be by myself, so I thought I'd go by you so we could both be alone," Hay Lin rambled.

Cornelia stared at Hay Lin without speaking for a moment. "But, you're still here."

"Yes!" Hay Lin exclaimed.

"But, you're... Well, never mind." Cornelia said, turning back to her book.

Hay Lin did take her time, watching Cornelia read the book. But, that did get boring after a few minutes, pretty as she was. "What are you reading about?" she asked.

"It's for school," Cornelia said.

"What is it?" Hay Lin asked, looking over her shoulder.

"History," Cornelia said.

"Huh, isn't that kind of boring? This is our break, right? If you're going to read, why not something fun?"

"It'll be fun not to have homework," Cornelia said.

"But what about now? You're missing out on everything that's going on!" Hay Lin said.

"I don't care," Cornelia said apathetically.

Hay Lin sat silently, looking away from Cornelia. She could take being told to go away, or even the other girl saying "I hate it" to her suggestions, but this "I don't care" attitude, Hay Lin really couldn't stand. She dug her hands into the bench, thinking of what she could do to bring Cornelia back from this depressed state. She grinned as she thought of an idea. "I'll do your hair," she suggested to herself, although speaking to Cornelia.

"Excuse me?" Cornelia asked, confused.

"Can I do your hair?" Hay Lin asked hopefully.

"My hair is fine how it is," Cornelia asserted.

"Of course it is! But you always wear your hair like that."

"Not always."

"Can I try something new, please?" Hay Lin begged. "You can still do your homework, just let me play."

"Fine," Cornelia tentatively agreed.

Hay Lin stood behind Cornelia, and enjoyed just running the brush through her well-managed hair. She tried to put a relaxed happy feeling in every brush, hoping that the emotion would reach the other girl. She started to feel that Cornelia was becoming more relaxed, and hoped that she really wasn't imagining it. Then Hay Lin began to separate the hair, beginning a braid. After she was finished with her styling, Cornelia had two braids, tied with an orange cord from Hay Lin's bag, remnants of a craft from one time. "There!" she exclaimed happily, holding out a mirror.

Cornelia looked at the braids, but not the mirror. "It's nothing new, I've worn my hair like this before," she said.

"Just look!" Hay Lin threw the mirror in front of her. "I tried an approach with French braids... I guess you might have tried that before though," she said sheepishly.

"No," Cornelia admitted as she admired herself. "A little weird, but not bad. Kind of like how you look most of the time," Cornelia smiled at Hay Lin. Hay Lin smiled back, very pleased with her work. But as Cornelia looked down at how her two braids fell, she was reminded of someone else. "She's really not coming back," Cornelia said.

"She- Elyon?"

"Yeah," Cornelia said, showing that expression again.

"She's not, but, it's not like you can't ever see her again," Hay Lin assured.

"You wouldn't understand," Cornelia said, predictably to Hay Lin. "You everyone else, and you're so good at making friends that it wouldn't really matter if your best friend moved to another planet. You'd still have all your other friends."

"You still have your other friends too," Hay Lin said softly.

"It's not the same," Cornelia said.

"It's not the same for me either! I mean, it is the same... Well, I mean, if you moved to Metamoor, Mars, or any other planet, I'd miss you like crazy. Because, I might have a lot of friends, but they're all-- _You're_ really special to me," she managed to admit. "I mean, I kind of like you, well, like you a lot, you might think it's in a weird way, but-" Hay Lin jumped in surprise as she received a hug from Cornelia, but then relaxed, enjoying the happy surprise.

Cornelia felt the other girl's energy as she hugged her. It was wild and outgoing, not like Elyon's at all. But, just the same, it was warm and loving. Being around her right now, it was difficult to feel so down. "Thanks."


End file.
